[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 33 (Friday, February 16, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12352-12353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03228]


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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Administration for Children and Families


Submission for Office of Management and Budget Review; 
Administration for Children and Families Generic for Engagement Efforts 
(New Umbrella Generic)

AGENCY: Administration for Children and Families, Department of Health 
and Human Services.

ACTION: Request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) intends to request 
approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to establish a 
new umbrella generic clearance to request information while engaging 
individuals and groups who could provide valuable information to inform 
ACF programs and work, including but not limited to those who are 
served or have been served by ACF, those with expertise in ACF program 
areas, and individuals invested in the outcomes of ACF research and 
evaluation. These engagement activities often need to be conducted 
quickly, to allow for sufficient time to inform project direction and 
decision-making. Additionally, planning for engagement activities is 
most often on a quick timeline and the standard timeline to comply with 
a full request under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) often inhibits 
the ability to collect information to inform these activities. 
Therefore, an umbrella generic is necessary to allow for quick 
turnaround requests for similar information collections related to 
these activities.

DATES: Comments due within 30 days of publication. OMB must decide 
about the collection of information between 30 and 60 days after 
publication of this document in the Federal Register. Therefore, a 
comment is best assured of having its full effect if OMB receives it 
within 30 days of publication.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for the proposed 
information collection should be sent within 30 days of publication of 
this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find this particular 
information collection by selecting ``Currently under 30-day Review-
Open for Public Comments'' or by using the search function. You can 
also obtain copies of the proposed collection of information by 
emailing [email protected]. Identify all requests by the 
title of the information collection.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Description: The Executive Order (E.O.), Advancing Racial Equity 
and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government 
(E.O. 13985) \1\ emphasizes consulting with communities that have been 
historically underserved by Federal policies and programs and those 
with lived experience \2\ in ACF programs. The E.O. on Further 
Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through 
the Federal Government \3\ followed in 2023 and built on E.O. 13985, 
calling upon agencies to increase engagement with underserved 
communities and to ``collaborate with OMB, as appropriate, to identify 
and develop tools and methods'' to meet this goal. This generic 
mechanism is a tool that could directly address these E.O.s. 
Particularly many requirements outlined in section 3 and section 5 of 
the 2023 E.O.
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    \1\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/.
    \2\ Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. (2021, 
December). Methods and Emerging Strategies to Engage People with 
Lived Experience. (Contract Number HHSP233201500071I). U.S. 
Department of Health and Human Services. https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/47f62cae96710d1fa13b0f590f2d1b03/lived-experience-brief.pdf.
    \3\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2023/02/16/executive-order-on-further-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/.
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    Additionally, the Presidential Memorandum on Restoring Trust in 
Government through Scientific Integrity and Evidence-Based Policy 
Making,\4\ the HHS Strategic Plan fiscal year (FY) 2022-2026,\5\ ACF's 
Strategic Plan,\6\ and the ACF Evaluation Policy \7\ discuss community 
engagement and inclusion in research. Consistent with these guidance 
documents, and to ensure meaningful involvement with a variety of 
individuals with diverse experiences and perspectives, ACF often 
conducts active engagement activities to inform various efforts, 
including research and evaluation.
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    \4\ https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/27/memorandum-on-restoring-trust-in-government-through-scientific-integrity-and-evidence-based-policymaking/.
    \5\ https://www.hhs.gov/about/strategic-plan/2022-2026/index.html.
    \6\ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/about/acf-strategic-plan-2022.
    \7\ https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre/report/acf-evaluation-policy.
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    Hearing the perspective of those affected by, experienced in, 
interested in, or potentially interested in ACF programs and similar 
programs is vital to ensure ACF is responsive to the needs of those it 
serves and that resources are, and programming is appropriate, useful, 
and relevant for audiences. Information collections under this generic 
would gather information from individuals

[[Page 12353]]

with diverse experiences and perspectives to inform ACF policies and 
programs. The information collected would allow for ongoing, two-way 
collaborative and actionable communications between ACF and its State, 
local and/or Tribal partners, program participants, communities served 
or affected by ACF programs, and or others experienced with or 
interested in ACF programs or similar programs.
    ACF envisions using information collected to inform a variety of 
efforts and activities such as the improvement, planning, and 
implementation of research studies, program changes, development and 
dissemination of resources and products developed under ACF studies, 
regulatory activities, guidance, outreach and/or training activities. 
The specific types of information gathering methods included under the 
umbrella of this clearance will vary, but will use well-established 
methodologies, including but not limited to:

 Semi-structured discussions or conference calls
 Focus groups
 Telephone or in-person interviews
 Questionnaires/Surveys
 Roundtable and/or Breakout Sessions
 Open-ended requests
 Contextualizing Existing Data

    Data collection will take place through a variety of activities--
both in-person and virtual--dependent on the specific project. ACF will 
submit individual requests under this clearance. ACF requests OMB 
provide a response on individual generic information collections within 
10 business days.
    Respondents: Respondents could include current or prospective 
service providers, training and technical assistance providers, grant 
recipients, contractors, current and potential participants in ACF 
programs or other comparable groups and other individuals with lived 
experience with ACF or similar programs, experts in fields pertaining 
to ACF programs, other key groups involved in ACF projects and 
programs, individuals engaged in program re-design or demonstration 
development for evaluation, State or local government officials, those 
in broader fields of study related to human services, or others 
involved in or prospectively involved in ACF programs.
    Burden Estimates: The burden table below is illustrative. Estimates 
for the number of respondents and time per response have been made 
based on discussion with ACF program offices, but as this is a new 
umbrella generic, it may be possible that we will need to adjust 
estimates throughout the three-year approval period. If needed, ACF 
will submit a change request for these updates. While we will not 
exceed the total burden cap for this generic without requesting a 
change for updates, we may use more or less burden within each 
instrument type.

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                                                                                             Average
                                                            Total number    Total number      burden      Total
         Example types of information collections          of respondents   of responses    hours per    burden
                                                                           per respondent    response     hours
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Semi-Structured Discussions and Focus Groups.............          10,000               1            2    20,000
Interviews...............................................           4,500               1            1     4,500
Questionnaires/Surveys...................................           8,000             1.5           .5     6,000
Templates and Open-ended requests........................           1,000               1           10    10,000
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    Estimated Totals.....................................          23,500  ..............  ...........    40,500
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Mary C. Jones,
ACF/OPRE Certifying Officer.
[FR Doc. 2024-03228 Filed 2-15-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4184-88-P